Early History of Gridley, California

EARLY HISTORY OF GR1DLEY

mm *L rf.. date of its be 9 innin 9- 1870, until
hThn ! l0wn of Gridle V was surrounded
hlrt^rl elds 01 9 rain - wneat - and

SmIST 9 was no irrigation and thus no

aiversitied (arming.

rJiM, l ° Wn Uself ' a ***** on the map of
UMitornia, numbering less than 2000 souls,
was lust made poss.ble by the arrival of the
Oregon and California Railroad - later the
Western Pacific and now the Southern Pacific.
Gndley is located near ihe southern boundary
of Butte County, adjacent to Sutter County, 70
miles north of the state capital, Sacramento.
The railroad established a station there in the
early 1870's. The right-of-way of the railroad,
running north and south, ran through the
city's limits. Gndley was incorporated In 1906.

In August of 1902, a group of far-sighted
men had proposed a canal system that would
tap the Feather River and flow westward
toward Gridley to irrigate the dry farms. This
would change the emphasis from grain
farming to diversified farming dependent on
irrigation. Crops such as alfalfa, clover, beans,
beets, orchards of fruits and nuts could thus be
grown on much smaller acreages for the
support of farm families.

By June 9, 1905, the Butte County Canal
Company, after starting to dig on April 4,
1904, had completed fourteen miles of main
canal from the Hazeibusch headgates and weir
on the Feather River northeast of Gridley at a
cost of $200,000.

Between 1902 and 1904, agents for the canal
company and the California Irrigated Land
Company had signed up contracts with
farmers around Gridley to supply irrigation
water for lands that previously had been
"dry-farmed."

The land company subdivided the lands
formerly planted to large tracts of grain into
"colonies," with tracts of irrigated farms in
acreages of ten. twenty or forty acres. The
emphasis on crops changed from raising grain
to raising such irrigated crops as fruit, alfalfa
and row crops. Pastures of clover also made
possible a thriving dairy industry.

The Oroville Mercury, in April 1904,
announced in most jubilant fashion the
following predictions resulting from the
opening of south Butte County's lands to
irrigation:

"The completion of the Butte County Canal
will bring in a large population of small
farmers who do so much to add to the wealth of
a community. In a few years we wi

see

Gridley and Biggs (five miles north of Gridley)
increase 500 percent in population. With water
in quantity and its fertile soil, southwestern
Butte County and eastern Sutter will become
one of the richest sections in the world.'"

The California Irrigated Land Company
advertised throughout the intermountain
country of Nevada, Idaho and Utah and
throughout the middle west on the subject,
"The Place Where Crops Never Fail."
meaning the irrigated lands around Gridley.

On June 9, 1905 the canal project was
completed and water was turned into the canal
system out of the Feather River three miles
east of Gridley. Hence the foundation was laid
for the coming of the Mormons, who were
skilled in farming irrigated lands.

With the completion of the main canal and
its three main laterals near Gndley, plus the
dissemination of all the promotional materials
sent far and wide, it is no wonder that the
Butte County Canal Company's irrigable lands
became the object of attention for many
visitors seeking to settle in the Gridley area.

The Gridley Herald in its April 13, 1906
issue, stated that a group of Mormons from
Utah had arrived to look over the irrigated
lands of Gndley. The editor stated that the
visitors, who were farmers, were favorably
impressed with what they saw.

In Utah these farmers had paid $25 per acre
for a water right plus $2.50 per acre rental
charge per acre per year. In Gridley they found
that water cost just $1 .00 per acre. In addition,
the climate was much more temperate than
that of the intermountain region, making the
California farms suited for a much wider
diversification of crops than the Mormons had
available to them in their homes of origin.

It was from this interest in irrigated farming
at moderate costs that led to the migration of
many Mormon farmers and their families from
Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada and other states
to the Gridley area.

Hyrum Dewsnup had come to Gridley in the
early autumn of 1906, hoping to find a more
salubrious climate to improve his health. The
diversity of crops including fruits, nuts, vines,
row crops and pastures impressed him
immensely. He returned to his Idaho home to
show his family and fellow Mormons the
samples of farm produce from the Gridley
region.

So it was that on November 22, 1906,
Latter-Day Saints arrived in Gridley from the
Rexburg, Idaho area. These church members

1

, n Wvrum Dewsnup, Charles French,
&13, O.T. fm Henry Losser.
Mathew White, W. Simmons George Cole,
his wife, Julia, and their children Louis,
james, Elizabeth and Arthur'.'

An agent of the California Irrigated Land
Company, a M r - Frieling, accompanied this
group to Gridley. His company was interested
in the sale of lands near Gridley to these new
arrivals in farming tracts of irrigated farms ten
ro forty acres in extent.

Through this land company agent, the group
took an option on all of the land in Colonies No.
4 and No. 7, which made up a total of 722
acres. Individuals in this first contingent of
Mormon settlers bought farms located south

and southwest of Gridley and began practicing
diversified farming. The parcels not taken up
by these first settlers were soon sold to other
Latter-Day Saint families who began to arrive
shortly afterward.

The March 1. 1907 issue of the Gridley
Herald printed the following item: "Several
carloads of household goods, stock and tools of
the Idaho colonists arrived on the raits last
week and the Idaho crowd now numbers 150
people. Joseph Cameron has completed his
home and Monday moved into it." Throughout
the year of 1907, the Gridley Herald regularly
announced the arrival of Mormons, either to
look things over or to settle in the colonies.
(They are mentioned by name, not by
religion.)

EARLY CHURCH ACTIVITIES

The George Cole family, which had come to
Gridley with the first group of colonists on
Nov. 22, 1906, had moved into a house on
Kentucky St. in Gridley. It was in this house
that the Latter-Day Saints held their first
Sacrament Meeting Dec. 10, 1906. It being the
home of George Cole, he presided. Meeting
was opened with singing, prayer and another
song. The sacrament was administered and
passed. The rest of the time was devoted to
testimony bearing. It was a spiritual meeting
and greatly enjoyed by those present. The
group consisted of George Cole, his wife,
Julia, his children, Louis, James, Elizabeth
and Arthur, C.L. French and his son Vandy,
Mathew White and his wife, O.T. Shirley and
W. Simmons. Except for short periods of flu
and diphtheria epidemics, Sacrament Meeting
by the Latter-Day Saints have been held in the
Gridley area continuously from 1906 to the
present day.

About the first of January (1907) the
meeting place was changed to the home of
Samuel Smith since the Cole family was
expecting the stork which arrived Jan. 19th
1907 and left twins.

On Feb. 5th, Joseph E. Robinson, California
Mission President, made a visit, at the
suggestion of the First Presidency of the
Church, and met with the Saints. The purpose
of this visit was to look the situation over and
make a report.

President Robinson returned Feb. 23rd with
Elder Thompson and Elder Grant. Sunday,
Feb. 24th, meeting was held in the Gridley
Opera House on Ohio Street, now occupied by
the Gridley Furniture Store, and the Gridley

Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints was organized. George Cole
was sustained as president of the new branch
with J. Frank Dewsnup as first counselor and
Charles W. Larsen as second counselor.

Several of the first Mormon families coming
to Gridley rented houses inside or near Gridley
before selecting their farms in the colonies,
where they built their permanent homes.
Many of these homes in the colonies are still
occupied today, seventy-two years later, often
by the descendants of those colonists of 1907.

Some families built tent platforms with
wooden sides to make the tents weatherproof
through the winter. These temporary homes
were placed under oak trees on the newly
purchased farms.

In March of 1907, after heavy rains, the
Biggs and Gridley areas were flooded with
overflow water from the Feather River. The
Mormon colonists who were living temporarily
in houses in Gridley were inconvenienced by
the waters invading their homes along with the
rest of the residents of Gridley.

Because the flood waters backed up against
the east side of the raised railroad right-of-way
that passed through Gridley. the flood was
most severe on the east side of ihe
right-of-way. affecting the homes on East
Hazel and Washington Streets. The railroad
tracks north of Gridley were washed out. This
permitted the waters to rush through, flooding
the main business sections of both Gridley and
Biggs. In Gridley, a lake was created in Ihe
Veatch tract and Parkside addition north and
southwest of the city's limits.

In 1907, the Branch was visited by Apostle

2

Ri ci? a , rdS and President- Joseph F. Smith. The

anost l° nS ° f the church P resifJ ent and the

£9-£th extreme,y help ' ul in rai5in 9 the
SSir fJfl ,hec °'°nistswho fey isolated from
Arizona rell 9 ionisls in lda ho. Utah and

Sunday School, Relief Society and probably

sui a ,n 0 H ere or9anized N °v. 17. 1907. Those
sustained , n leadership positions in these
auxiliary organizations were: George W.
Tolley, Sunday School Superintendent with M.
Hansen and Charles W. Larson as counselors,
Liins Minerva Cameron, Relief Society
President with Emily Dewsnup and Julia Cole
as counselors, Caroline Allstrom. Y. W.M.I. A.
President with Laura Dewsnup (now Richins)
and Almira Peal as counselors. (At this time
we are unable to determine the Y. M.M.I. A.
presidency.)

The Primary was not organized until 1909.
Lydia Barrow was the first president. (The first
Primary president in northern California.)

Church services continued to be held in the
Gridley Opera House during 1907 and 1908'
The building was rented and Sunday School,
Sacrament Meeting and M.I. A. were held
there on Sunday. It was not a good place to
meet but the best available.

At the close of the year, 1908. the Branch
had grown in numbers until there were close to
500 Saints. In addition to those who settled on
farms in what was known as Colony 4, many of
the Latter-Day Saints settled in or just outside
Gridley. One example of this was the Albert
Taylor Family. Albert Taylor owned a large
general store in the building that still stands
on the southwest corner of Hazel and Vermont
Streets, immediatlely north of the Church
chapel that was built on the corner of
Sycamore and Vermont Streets. Other
members also had business interests in town.
The Branch was growing fast and the people
felt the need to have a building of their own.

Some contention arose among the Saints on
the building site of the church. A portion of
the membership wanted the church building
erected in the Colony (Colony 4). Others
wanted to build the church inside the city
limits of Gridley. This was the cause of
consideralbe ill feeling among some of the
Saints.

It was finally decided to build the church
inside the city limits and a hall (Social Hall) out
in Colony 4. Because the Gridley Opera House
was such a poor place for church meetings, it
was decided to build the hall as soon as
possible in order to have a place in which to
hold church services.

About twenty acres was acquired and the
Social Hall was built near the center of the
tract, between Dewsnup and French Avenues.
What is now Social Hall Road was used for
access. Seven acres to the north of the building
and eight acres to the south were later sold to
Samuel A. Barrow.

During the spring and early summer of
1909, services were held under the big oak
trees on the site of the building. Planks were
used for seating.

George W. Tolley. then Branch President, a
carpenter and contractor, was in charge of
construction and labor was donated by the
Saints. When the building was partly finished,
meetings were held in the hall, the first one
being on Sunday, July 4. 1909.

It was one large room with curtains hung
from wires that could be used to divide it into
classrooms. Heat was supplied by a wood
burning stove in the middle of the room. This
is reputed to be the first Church owned
building in all of California.

The church in town was built on the north
west corner of Sycamore and Vermont Streets.
George W. Tolley was in charge of the
construction of this building also. It was
completed in 1912.

Funds for the new chapel were raised by
the members, plus the liberal assistance of
friendly business people and citizens of
Gridley. Many members donated labor. The
total cost of construction amounted to $12,000.
The Church headquarters in Utah, as was the
custom, paid one half of the cost.

This structure was built to seat 1000
persons. In 1912, this was the largest house of
worship belonging to the Latter-Day Saints
west of Salt Lake City. The Gridley Branch
made up the largest group of members of any
branch of Latter-Day Saints in the extreme
west.

The building's main entrance faced south on
Sycamore Street. Sidewalks along the south
and north walls led to the other two entrances
into the west wing. A great-used drinking
fountain was erected at the entrance to the
west wing, adjacent to the lawn and the church
sidewalk.

The huge chapel was built in the shape of a
"T". The main congregation faced the west
wall and pulpit from their seats in the stem of
the "T". The top of the "T" contained the
south and north wings for extra seating at
conference time. On these occasions, huge
throngs gathered to hear the Church General
Authorities, Mission President and visiting
missionaries in attendance. The platform

3

« the west wall 'of the top of the "T"
S£ f he presiding officers, the guest
sealed me h d , k j he chojr wa «

rSeS^oup 9 . the north end o, the
n atform facing the congregat.on diagonal!)
from the front of the north wing.

The central aisle, leading from the front
entrance cloakroom, was laid out from east to
west to the platform and the pulpit. It was
carpeted and terminated at the Sacrament
table.

The benches or pews in the church were of
massive construction in solid oak. The walls of
the church were made of stamped metal with
the fleur-de-lis pattern common in the metal
walls of public buildings of that era.

A huge coal or wood burning stove in the
central part of the church warmed the
congregation - especially those clustered in
close proximity to this source of heat in a
sometimes chilly church.

At the time of the construction of the
Mormon chapel in 1912, the congregation had
grown from the original colonists of 1906 to
between six and seven hundred members.
Newcomers, members of the church, were
continuing to arrive from Idaho, Utah,
Nevada, Arizona, Canada, Mexico and further
east.

The Latter-Day Saints of that period, just as
now and just as in the days of the early Utah
pioneers, believed in wholesome recreational
activities. Hence, the celebration of Pioneer
Day on the 24th of July, the day that Brigham
Young and the Mormon pioneers first looked
down on the great valley of the Great Salt Lake
from a gap in the Wasatch Range as they came
westward - and Brigham Young stated, "This
is the place," - has always been an annual
event in the social program of the Mormon
Church.

Although the Gridley Mormon colonists
observed their first Pioneer Day at the
Wickman ranch, in successive years the
momentous day was celebrated at the Social
Hall.

Contests of all kinds were held in the yard
under the oak trees. Youth of all ages, from
children to teen-agers and past, enjoyed all
kinds of races - sack races, three-legged races
and wheel-barrow races. Sprints, broad and
high jumping and relays were also popular.
Declamations, recitations and dramatic produc
lions were offered. A dance was usually held
in the evening.

From the July 25th, 1935 Sacramento Bee:
"When Gridley Mormons Observed Pioneer
Day". "Members of the Mormon faith to the

number of several thousand from gridley,
Oroville, Yuba City, Nevada City, Corning and
Colusa assembled in Gridley yesterday to
observe Pioneer Day, the Eighty-eighth
anniversary of the arrival of the Mormons in
the Great Salt Lake Valley of Utah. A parade
with entries reminiscent of the equipment and
types of people who made the overland trek
from the Missouri River to Salt Lake was a
feature. The pictures show some of the
participants in that and the sham battle that
climaxed the parade." The pictures show
covered wagons drawn in a circle in the
Gridley Ball Park, as sometimes were those of
the participants' forebears as a means of
repelling Indian attacks. The mounted Indians
are seen circling the wagons during the sham
battle. Another picture shows Misses Alice
and LaPriel Turnbaugh of Gridley, shown in
their pioneer costumes as they appeared in the
parade. Also shown is one of the handcarts
similar to those used by some of the Mormon
immigrants to transport their property across
the plains.

An article appeared in the Gridley Herald
concerning the Pioneer Day Celebration on
July 24th, 1936 entitled "Pioneer Day
Celebration Decided Success; Hundreds
Witness Parade, Pageant". The article goes
on as follows: "The second annual Pioneer
Day celebration by the Gridley Stake, Latter
Day Saints church, is an event of the past and
the sponsors are being congratulated on the
success of the occasion.

The parade which extended tor a number of
blocks was appropriate to the occasion, with a
dozen covered wagons, a handcart section,
pioneers in 1847 garb riding in wagons,
pushing handcarts or "in line".

Several entries were especially good. Dimon
Stewart as an Indian squaw probably received
the most attention. His father, R.E. Stewart,
scored as a bearded pioneer with the handcart
division.

The pageant in the ball park was witnessed
by a crowd which filled the grandstand to
capacity. The spectacle was divided into two
parts. Old-time music was made audible to the
spectators by the Ambrose loud speaker. A
brief history of the famous Mormon trek of
1847 was also given by the announcer.

Hundreds crowded the sports program at
the pool in the afternoon. Various formations
were effected by the swimmers, chief among
which were the Red Cross emblem and the
letter "M" for Mormon Pioneer. In addition
there were swimming and diving exhibitions
and contests, directed by Mrs. Etta Todd. The

4

water program was held in conjunction with
the Red Cross swimming school and pins were
awarded beginners and swimmers success-
fully passing tests required.

Th e celebration concluded in the evening
with a dance at Social Hall, well attended.

Editor's Note - The celebration, as
celebrations go, was quite successful.
Considerable effort and time was required to
get together the wagons, hand carts, costumes
and other features necessary to supply the
parade color. Individuals and committees
taxed muscle and brain to make the
celebration the decided success that it was.
However, with Gridley wards alone having a
congregation estimated at more than 1000. it
seems that the Latter Day Saint people have an
opportunity on Pioneer Day to enlarge features
of the event to a point that the celebration
would be an outstanding event in the state,
one that would attract spectators from near
and far. Hundreds should have been in the
parade, instead of scores. It has -been
suggested by the businessmen themselves
that It would be a splendid idea to close
business establishments for two hours and the
community in general either take part in the
parade or get on the sidelines. Co-operation
between the Latter Day Saint people and the
community should make the 1937 celebration a
much larger spectacle.

Before the erection of the church in town,
church members living in town had to make
their way on foot or by horse and buggy to the
Social Hall to attend church services - either
Sacrament meeting or meetings of the
auxiliaries of the Church. The roads were
muddy, often nearly impassable. In summer,
rutted and dusty roads had to be negotiated in
order to reach services at the Social Hall. After
its erection, the situation was reversed. Those
living in the outlying area had the same
problem attending meetings at the Vermont
and Sycamore location. Hence a movement
was initiated to organize a second Sunday
School and Relief Society and meetings were
held at both locations but everyone attended
Sacrament Meeting in the church in town.

A Sunday School had also been organized in
Biggs. They met in a rented building but it was
discontinued by 1913.

January 1, 1920 the Liberty Branch was
organized as a separate entity. Joseph W.
McMurrin, President of the California Mission
presided. Joseph Davis was sustained as
Branch President with J. Frank Dewsnup and
Ray E. Stewart as his counselors.

The name "Liberty" was proposed by
Broiher Frank A. Little of the Colony group as
the name of the new branch and this was
approved. The Branch consisted of those
meeting in the Social Hall and it was retained
as their meeting place.

During the presidency of Joseph Davis, the
Social Hall was remodeled. At the east end a
basement with a stage immediately above it
was constructed. The concrete for the
basement was not waterproof, however, and
each winter water would seep into the
basement, rendering it unuseable. On the
west end, rest rooms were added. The
basement was divided into four class rooms
with sliding doors. These improvements made
the hall much more practical and convenient.

The chapel in town was also remodeled.
During the presidency of James M. Pryde,
major changes were made. The huge one-room
chapel was divided to create a smaller chapel
and a recreation hall (cultural hall). Thus
provision was made for social dances, parties,
banquets, etc. Also, a curtained stage was
built at the north end of this recreation hall
with side wings, dressing rooms and
lavatories. Many dramatic productions were
offered through these facilities. A completely
equipped kitchen below the stage made
provision for food preparation for banquets. In
the chapel portion, a balcony and upstairs
class rooms were constructed. Other changes
were included and minor remodeling occurred
from time to time but it was not until the early
1920's that a baptismal font was constructed.

Following the alteration of the big Gridley
chapel in 1923, church services continued as
usual in the remodeled smaller chapel.
Because of this alteration in the building,
accommodations for an original congregation
of 1,000 persons was considerably curtailed.
There had been much soul-searching among
the members of the congregation at the time
when plans for walling off the west portion of
the building to serve as a recreation hall were
discussed, with much opposition from many of
the older, more conservative members.

Tbe above 5 pages were prepared by Joseph Magee and printed by (he Gridley Reunion
Committee, History Of The LDS Church in the Gridley Calif Area(Gridley,CAMcDowell
Printing 1980

5

i

REFLECTIONS

A Hisiory of
Sacramento California Slake
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1934-1995

Compiled and Edited by
Norma B. Ricketts

Appendix G

The Gridley Colony

A group of Latter-day Saints settled in Gridlcy in 1906.
These members were in ifee California Mission as were those in the
Sacramento area. Activities between the two groups were
intertwined until W4 when stakes were formed in both Gridley
and Sacramento at a conference in Homestead Ward. Sacramento.
Gridley Slake was created in the morning session and Sacramento
Stake in the afternoon session, making them the fourth and fifth
stakes in California. Because of this association and because it
continues the story of the Church in early California, this brief
history of the Gridley colony is included.

The California Irrigated Lands Company, with headquarters
in San Francisco, began a nationwide advertising campaign to sell
plots of land around Gridley. Their advertisements were
enthusiastic and promising. This advertising campaign was highly
successful, as hundreds of Mormons from Utah and Idaho
responded to the stories and pictures of rich fertile land with
irrigation. On November 22. 1906. twelve individuals from
Rexburg. Idaho, were the iirsl LDS to arrive in Gridley. They were
so pleased with what they found that they returned for their
families. They settled in what the land company called Colonics 4
and 7. comprising 722 acres.

Just iwo weeks after arriving, the Mormons met in the
home of George Cole on Kentucky Street for the first Church
meeting. Present were Mr and Mrs. George Cole and children.
Louis, .lames, and Klizabeih; C. L. French and son Vandy; Mr. and
Mrs. Matthew White; 0. T. Shirley, and W. Simmons. This was
the beginning of an almost unbroken stream of Mormons to settle
in Gridley. By March 1907 there were 150 members of the Church
in Gridiey.

On February 5. 1907. President Joseph K. Robinson of the
California Mission visited Gridley to meet with the Saints and to
make a report to the First Presidency of the Church. He returned

316

on Sunday. February 24. and organized (lie Gridley Branch, wilh
George Cole as president; J. F. Dewsnup and Charles Larson,
counselors. This organizational meeting was held in the Gridley
Opera House on Ohio Street.

0

After the first year, meetings were held in tbe home of
Samuel Smith.

Gridley Saints began thinking about a building of their
own. and a site in Colony Number 4. in an outlying area where
many of the Saints had settled, was selected. Work on the Social
Hall, begun in 1908. was completed in M>09. the second Church-
owned building in California, the first being the combination
Church-schoolhousc built by John I lorner in Centcrviffe.

Building the Social Hall made demands upon the time and
finances of the struggling colonists, who made many sacrifices. By
1°I2, under the direction of Branch President George Tolley. the
Vermont-Sycamore Streei chapel was creeled in Gridley. Sunday
School was held in both places, but sacrament meetings were held
in ihe Gridley chapel.

On January 1. 1920. under Mission President Joseph W.
McMurrin. the Gridley Branch was divided, wilh a new Liberty
Branch being created. Both buildings were used, with the Gridley
Branch meeting in the chapel and the Liberty Branch in the social
hall. The Gridley building had no recreation hall. In 1923. under
Branch President James M. Pryde. the building was remodeled to
its present status.

On November 4. 1934. the Gridley Stake was organized,
with John C. Todd, president. Gridley and Liberty branches
became wards. This was done at the same time Sacramento Stake
was organized, and took place in Sacramento. Both Sac ram en lo
and Gridley were in the Sacramenlo-Gridlcy District of the
California Mission. Gridley Stake was created in the morning
session of conference, making it the fourth stake in California and
the 1 07th slake in the Church.

317

First
LDS
Chapel
Built
In
Calif

Social Hall Built 1909
Gridley, California